Guns, Booze, and Free Time
by lap1997
Summary: After the hive over Berlin was defeated, the Strike Witches are in Ostmark awaiting reassignment. While there, Minna sends Shirley, Lucchini, and Yoshika on a supply run. After a few complications, the girls find themselves stranded on the side of the road at night. Oneshot.


Hey everyone. So, for anyone wondering about _Angels_, don't worry, I'm not dropping it. I just had this idea and wanted to do it. This one-shot is based on a real event. I will explain at the bottom. Enjoy-lap1997

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Strike Witches.

* * *

Captain Charlotte Yeager wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand and gave a sigh of defeat. Smoke was pouring from the engine and floating away into the night sky. The radiator was shot, considering how hard they'd hit that tree. Shirley hung her head. Barkhorn was never going to let her hear the end of this.

"Well, that's it, I can't fix it" she said, slamming the hood of the green army truck with a loud bang.

"What? But, how are we going to get back to base?!" Lucchini asked frantically.

"We walk" Shirley said with finality, turning in the darkness and doing just that.

"Walk, but it's so far, and it's dark" Lucchini said, not moving from beside the truck.

"Well, we can't just sit here" Yoshika said following the Liberion down the dirt road.

"Oh, wait, don't leave me alone!" Lucchini cried out, running after the girls.

"You know, I can't believe Commander Minna hasn't sent someone to come and get us yet. We have been gone for a long time." That was an understatement.

The three had been sent by Minna to go and get supplies in Saalfelden, but the trip had gone much longer than expected because Lucchini ran off, leaving Shirley and Yoshika to handle the shopping.

Shirley had no idea how she was going to explain to the commander that she lost Lucchini, and was certain she'd get some form of punishment for not keeping track of her subordinates.

Fortunately, they had gotten all of the necessary supplies, but now would have to send another truck to retrieve them.

"Shirley, I'm scared, can I hold your hand?" Lucchini asked, holding out her hand towards the older girl.

"That's a good idea, why don't we all hold hands" Shirley said, taking Lucchini's hand and reaching for Yoshika's. The Fuso witch took Shirley's hand, and the three continued on in silence.

* * *

Staff Sergeant Mike Alden drove his green army jeep carefully down the dirt road heading away from Saalfelden towards his base. The young paratrooper had been on leave for the last three days, and had spent his time helping with the rebuilding efforts in the town.

The Ostmarkians had been more than happy to have his help, and most nights the men had dragged him off to the local pub to buy him drinks as a thank you for fighting the Neuroi.

Mike had enjoyed his time there, but was eager to get back to the fellas.

'I'm sure Pete's just sitting around bored without me there' Mike thought jokingly. Pete Dowden was a replacement, and was all sore about getting in too late to see any action. Mike had taken a liking to the kid and would often play cards with him.

Mike slowed down, his headlights illuminating a truck sitting on the side of the road. He pulled up next to it and stopped.

Mike got out to examine the truck. Looking closely, he could make out the symbol of the 501st JFW on the driver's door.

"Witches, huh?" Mike asked out loud. He looked at the front of the truck to see that it was crumpled in quite a bit, with smoke rising from the engine.

"Looks like they hit a tree" he said, then walked to the rear of the truck. Looking inside he could see piles of bags and boxes stacked in the back.

"Guess they were on a supply run" he said, walking back to his jeep. He hopped in and started it up.

'Well, they must've had to walk' he thought.

'I bet they enjoyed that' he thought with a slight smirk, remembering how much his company had ran every day in training.

He drove away from the truck and continued on, wondering if he would see the famous Strike Witches.

* * *

"Shirley, are we there yet?" Lucchini whined, dragging her feet as the three witches walked down the road.

"Francesca, we've only been walking for fifteen minutes, we've still got a long way to go" Shirley said. Lucchini began pouting, and Yoshika asked, "How much longer do you think it will take us?"

"Oh, a while, we've got at least fifteen miles to go" Shirley responded, which just caused Lucchini to groan. A low hum caused Shirley to turn her head, and she caught a glimpse of light from behind them.

"I think I see something" she said, and the other two girls turned around as well. It was a jeep, heading towards the witches at a leisurely pace.

"We're saved!" Lucchini exclaimed happily, jumping up and down.

"Hey!" Shirley called out to the driver waving her arms to flag down the jeep. As the jeep approached Shirley got a good look at the driver. He was a Liberion, and not much older than herself, she guessed early twenties. He had dark brown hair, gray eyes, and chiseled features.

"Hi" he said friendly, smiling at the girls.

"Hi", Shirley said back, walking towards him, "our truck had some problems and…"

"I know, I came across it just back that way" he said, pointing behind him.

"Oh, you did?" Shirley asked.

"Yeah. Tree trouble, right?" he asked with a smirk.

Shirley laughed sheepishly, "Yeah, tree trouble"

"I guess that means you ladies need a ride?" he asked.

"Yes please!" Lucchini said happily, quickly jumping in the back seat. Yoshika sat next to her and Shirley took the seat next to the soldier.

"Thanks for this. Captain Charlotte Yeager, but everyone calls me Shirley" she said, sticking her hand out for him to shake.

* * *

"Staff Sergeant Mike Alden, and don't worry about it" Mike said, taking her hand and giving it a firm shake. She had long ginger hair and a pretty face. Mike tried hard to not stare at her chest. She was very "gifted" in that particular area. They let go and Mike began to drive.

"These two are Pilot Officer Francesca Lucchini and Pilot Officer Yoshika Miyafuji" Shirley said, gesturing to the two witches behind her.

"It's nice to meet you" Mike said over his shoulder.

"Likewise" Lucchini said energetically, while Yoshika just nodded tiredly.

"So, what put's you out here so late at night" Shirley asked Mike and he responded, "I'm returning from leave in Saalfelden"

"Really?" Shirley said, politely keeping the conversation going.

"Yeah, I was helping the locals with the rebuilding"

"We just came from Saalfelden. We were getting supplies and seeing the sights" Shirley said.

"I thought so, there was a ton of bags and crates in your truck" Mike said.

"Yeah, we're going to have to go back for those tomorrow" Shirley responded.

They stopped talking and drove in silence for a while, until Mike said, "You know, I think I saw you guys at Bastogne"

Shirley nodded her head, "Yeah, we were there"

Mike kept talking, "You guys really saved our asses. Thanks for helping us out" he said, very sincerely. It was quiet again, until Lucchini responded "So I guess this makes us even"

"What?" Mike asked, looking over his shoulder for a second. Lucchini just shrugged.

"We helped you out there, and now you're helping us, so we're even" she replied. Mike just sat there for a moment and let that sink in. He was quiet for a few more moments, and then he began to chuckle. Then he began to laugh, a big, hearty laugh. He just found it so funny, the way she just casually said it.

"What's so funny?" Lucchini asked, sincerely curious. Mike shook his head, but kept laughing, taking a few moments to stop.

"Just the way you said that was so casual. You do know that you saved my life, and the lives of my friends, and I'm just giving you a ride to your base, right?" he replied.

"Well yeah, so we're even" she said, sounding confused. Mike just shook his head again and kept driving.

"Sergeant Alden, your weird, ya know that?"

Mike just laughed.

* * *

They'd been driving for a couple of minutes and were getting close to the base. A good thing too, considering that it was nearing midnight. Up ahead, Mike saw three jeeps stopped in the middle of the road. There was one guy standing, and Mike could see someone lying on the ground, not moving.

'Oh shit' he thought, getting a bad feeling. He stopped the jeep a couple of yards away and got out.

"Wait here" he said to the girls and approached the scene. Walking across the slightly muddy ground he saw that one of the jeeps was from Karlsland, while the other two were both of Liberion make.

The lone man stood there with a huge grin on his face, Colt .45 in his hand, looking at his handiwork. Mike looked down and saw two Karlsland soldiers dead on the ground, and another body behind the smiling Liberion.

"Hey pal, you okay, you need some help?" Mike asked curtly, feeling his adrenaline starting to pump.

'Keep calm' he told himself. The Liberion walked forward and chuckled deliriously. Mike saw one stripe on his uniform, a Private.

"They wouldn't give me any gas. Krauts!" he said, pointing to the two dead Karlsland soldiers and chuckling like it was funny. Mike stepped forward a little as the man turned around and walked to the jeep farthest away.

Next to it, Mike saw another body lying face down on the road, blood pooling beneath it.

The soldier walked towards it, pointing with his pistol, "I tried to explain, to this limey fuck, but he wouldn't listen!" he said, his voice rising slightly with drunken anger. The man put the gun to his head and stood there for a moment, thinking.

"I think he was a major" he finally said, swinging the gun away from his head.

"Look buddy, we got a problem" Mike said sternly, still fighting to stay calm. The man was obviously drunk, and as long as he was holding that pistol, a very real threat.

The man turned his head and asked slowly, his words slurring "Do you have any gas?"

Mike stepped forward and reached out his hand.

"Give me your weapon" Mike said with a hard edge to his voice. The man ignored him and turned back to the dead Major's jeep.

"You know, I guess I'll just take his jeep" the drunk said, pointing at the major's body with his gun, "I don't think he'll be needing it anymore"

He walked to the jeep and Mike followed shouting "Hold on a second there!" The drunk swung around and raised the gun, squeezing off a shot that hit Mike in the temple. Mike fell like a tree on his back and the drunk climbed into the jeep, backing up and taking off.

* * *

"Hold on a second there!" Shirley heard Alden shout, which was followed by a loud crack.

Alden fell to the ground and Shirley shouted "Sergeant Alden!" She hopped out of the jeep and ran towards the fallen man.

The shooter reversed the jeep he took and drove off, but Shirley wasn't concerned about that. She sprinted as fast as she could and dropped to her knees next to Alden. She took a look at his wound and she felt her insides go cold. He was shot in the head, a bloody hole in his left temple. His gray eyes were open, staring blankly at the night sky.

"Yoshika!" she shouted, but the Fuso witch was already there, looking at the wound. She recoiled at first, a look of horror on her face. Then her eyes hardened with determination and she got down to business.

"This is bad" Yoshika said, examining the bullet's entry point in Alden's temple, which was currently spilling blood onto the ground.

"You can fix him, right?" Shirley asked, and Yoshika shrugged, stretching out her hands which began to glow blue with magic.

"I can try, but I'm not sure" she replied. Lucchini stood behind the two looking at Alden in shock and horror. Shirley turned around and saw her looking. She stood and walked over to the girl.

"Let's go back to the jeep and give Yoshika some space" Shirley said, trying to get Lucchini away from the gruesome scene.

They walked back to the jeep, and Lucchini asked, "Is Sergeant Alden going to be okay?" Shirley looked down into the young witches scared eyes and smiled.

"Of course he is, Yoshika's taking care of him" she said, not sure if she was trying to convince Lucchini or herself. Lucchini looked back at Yoshika, but Shirley stepped in front of her view.

"Don't look" she said firmly, and Lucchini's eyes began to tear up.

"Why, why did that man shoot Sergeant Alden?" she asked, sniffling as tears started to roll down her cheeks. Shirley wrapped her arms around Francesca and said "I don't know Francesca. I just don't know" They stood like that for a while, the blue glow of Yoshika's magic shining brightly in the dark forest.

* * *

So the real event that I mentioned earlier is when SSgt. Charles E. Grant of Easy Company, 506th PIR, was shot in the head. The differences are, he wasn't with any witches(shocker!), and he had to be operated on by a brain surgeon, not healed by Yoshika(again, shocker!). Anyways, I hoped you guys liked it, and for anyone this may pertain to, I will get the next chapter of _Angels_ up in a few weeks or so.-lap1997


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